Name:   MrHodja - Subject:   Excellent subject Date:   11/25/2019 10:05:58 PM

Good point.  When I was near the end of my first career (USAF), a mentor said to me "we have made our mark and done about all we will do for the Air Force.  Our job now is to leave a legacy".  That is exactly what you are doing and I strive to do the same. It is especially gratifying to see young, smart colleagues who want to learn and excel.  Sometimes you just need to point them in the right direction.  Sometimes you apply a little management and when they get traction you sit back, let them bloom, and don't manage them at all.

One more thing.  The worst a$$ chewing I ever got in the Air Force was (as a young Captain) from a Colonel who ended up as a two star general.  I felt pretty strongly about a certain way to get a particular project done and went to him twice asking it be done the way I suggested (the first time he said no).  In rather salty language he said he had told me what to do and I'd best go do it. When he saw how crestfallen I was a couple days later he said: "don't worry, everyone makes mistakes, just don't make the same mistake twice."  And then came the real advice when he said "I'd much rather have somene out there getting things done and screwing up every now and then than someone who never makes a mistake....but never gets anything done."